CONGRESS: It’s becoming increasingly unlikely that Congress will pass an energy bill this year. (The Hill)

ALSO:
• Federal lawmakers are expected to unveil spending plans this week for the Department of Energy. (E&E Daily)
• Conservative groups pressure Congress to remove tax breaks for renewable energy from an FAA reauthorization bill. (The Hill)

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CLEAN POWER PLAN: Documents filed so far in a challenge to the Clean Power Plan chronicle years of legal wrangling over carbon regulation. (SNL Energy)

OIL AND GAS:
• Critics say a California utility’s warning of potential blackouts is a scare tactic to keep the Aliso Canyon storage facility open. (Los Angeles Times)
• How a quasi-governmental agency is effectively serving as a lobbyist for the oil and gas industry. (InsideClimate News)
• An industry group pressured a North Dakota museum into altering a “green energy” exhibit so it could appear more “balanced.” (Bismarck Tribune)
• A group of Iowa landowners is suing state regulators for allowing a company to use eminent domain to build the Dakota Access pipeline. (The Gazette)
Backers of a Colorado ballot measure to expand the buffer zone around drilling operations can begin gathering signatures. (Denver Business Journal)
• Declining oil and gas revenues are having a major impact on small eastern Montana towns. (Billings Gazette)
• Colorado’s governor urges FERC to reconsider its rejection of an Oregon natural gas export terminal. (Denver Business Journal)

FINANCE:
• Former NRG Energy CEO David Crane says the once-popular business model for financing clean energy projects known as “yieldcos” is “completely broken.” (Houston Business Journal)
Bad financial bets on risks of oil and gas could cost billions. (Bloomberg)

COAL:
• California lawmakers will debate the potential health impacts of a proposed coal terminal in Oakland. (San Jose Mercury News)
• Amid coal’s collapse in West Virginia, one in four Appalachian Power customers are delinquent on their electric bills. (ClimateWire)
• A carbon tax to help rebuild coal communities attracts growing interest. (U.S. News & World Report)
Energy efficiency is eliminating the need for a Wyoming coal plant with ties to Rocky Mountain ski towns. (Summit Daily)

SOLAR:
Utilities backing a solar amendment approved for Florida’s November ballot have raised about $7 million to date. (Florida Politics blog)
A Vermont furniture manufacturer plans a solar array that will provide about 2/3 of its electricity. (Furniture Today)

UTILITIES: A major utility says the income-guarantee deals approved in Ohio make the case against further deregulating Michigan’s electric market. (Midwest Energy News)

COMMENTARY:
• Concerns arise over the nuclear industry’s push for small modular reactors. (Climate Change News)
• In almost every way imaginable, the car, as it is deployed and used today, is insane. (The Atlantic)

Ken is the director of the Energy News Network at Fresh Energy and is a founding editor of both Midwest Energy News and Southeast Energy News. Prior to joining Fresh Energy, he was the managing editor for online news at Minnesota Public Radio. He started his journalism career in 2002 as a copy editor for the Duluth News Tribune before spending five years at the Spokesman-Review in Spokane, Washington, where he worked as a copy editor, online producer, features editor and night city editor. A Nebraska native, Ken has a bachelor's degree from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and a master's degree from the University of Oregon. He is a member of the Society of Professional Journalists and Investigative Reporters and Editors.

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